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NASHVILLE — The 2024 National Football League season is less than 9 weeks away, much to the delight of Caleb Murphy.

The former Dowagiac standout and current Tennessee Titan has been hard at work preparing for his sophomore campaign and his coaches have noticed.

“He played a good amount in the preseason last year, then he got some opportunities in a regular season so he’s put tape out there in the NFL so you can see that he’s a talented player,” said Titans Linebackers coach Ben Bloom. “He’s got size, he’s got explosion, he’s got inside rush feel and he’s a hard worker.”

Signing with Tennessee as an undrafted free agent, Murphy was a standout during the 2023 preseason, tallying one sack in all three games and finishing with four total. Murphy appeared in three regular season games last year and tallied two tackles. 

“My rookie season was a learning experience,” Murphy said in a February interview. “I took in knowledge from every situation that I was put in. Obviously a lot of inactive games but you look at those as a blessing because you’re learning from guys that are above you, so you just try to keep a positive mindset through all of it and getting out and playing a little bit; it’s nice. Next year, it’s just making sure I find a role on the team and just ball out.”

Murphy will be suiting up for his second coaching staff in as many seasons as first-time head coach Brian Callahan was hired to replace Mike Vrabel, who was fired following an 11-6 season. According to Bloom, Murphy has been a pleasure to coach.

“It’s exciting to work with Caleb because he knows he can win with moves and work edges and use his hands and also win with power,” Bloom said. “It’s just challenging him and finding the right type of drills to work with him and help him grow in those areas.”

For Murphy, playing in the NFL has been a dream come true. While he wishes he could have played against his favorite player – Tom Brady, who retired following the 2022 season – Murphy has enjoyed playing with and against the best players in the world.

“You grow up and you’re like I want to do it and then once you actually are doing it, it’s a surprise moment,” he said. “It’s really nice because they’re all talented, they’re all great players.”

After watching film, Bloom was impressed with his play in limited snaps and said Murphy will be able to properly showcase his pass-rushing ability to the staff in training camp.

“When training camp starts and the preseason games start, you really get an opportunity to do stuff live because right now, it’s not really the time of year for real one-on-one rushes,” Bloom said.

While Murphy was happy to see the field last year, he continues to work toward earning a larger role on the team and knows what that will take.

“Getting bigger, faster, stronger as always and then building a relationship with the coaching staff,” he said. “It’s just developing a trusting situation where I put myself in the best situation to play.”